Q: I am 70 years old and have had silver hair for several years. All of a sudden my hair is starting to turn black. I never had black hair. When I was younger my hair was auburn or very light brown. My hairdresser has been in business for more than 40 years and she has never heard of anyone’s hair going from silver to black. I have never tinted my hair.
I did have a jaw bone graft in preparation for a dental implant about the time my hair started to change color. I am in very good health. I do aerobics and weight exercises for 75 minutes five times a week. I take Simvastatin and Micardis for cholesterol and blood pressure (both of which are under very good control), Omeprazole and L-thyroxine. I also take a daily senior multi-vitamin, calcium, magnesium and iron.
I earned and like my silver hair and don’t want it to change. Any idea why it is changing and what I can do?
A: There are several possibilities to consider. Initially, your jaw bone grafting may have been autologous (harvested from your own body) or it may have been synthetic and composed of biocompatible substances. For obvious reasons and when possible, autologous grafting is preferred because there is a decreased risk for graft rejection. Local anesthesia is often used to numb the area, followed by antibiotics, pain medication, and an antibacterial mouth wash. There are numerous procedures but generally speaking, they are successful and aren’t generally rejected by the body. Anesthesia is commonly out of a person’s system in 24 hours post procedures and according to many sources, it is in no way linked with changes in hair color. Some researchers indicate that the underlying cause for your grafting may have contributed to changes in texture, but not the anesthesia. Having said this, I personally know one patient who underwent knee surgery, had anesthesia for the procedure, and quite promptly turned gray when she was young and never had a hint of gray prior. So, I guess there are either exceptions to the rule or Mother Nature intervened.
Another possibility might be medication. Countless men and women who take prescription medication experience color changes. If some of your medications were not begun until after your procedure, they could be contributory. Or, they could have exhibited an adverse reaction following surgery. For example, L-thyroxine appears to be a very safe drug, yet individuals who are on it indicate they have gone from gray to brown, from blond to red, and so forth. Despite these findings reported to physicians, health care providers do not feel there is any connection.
What is known is that the pituitary gland releases hormones that activate melanocytes that produce melanin in our skin. Melanin is what most of us experience when we go out of doors in the sun in the summertime and our skin tans. Further, hair color changes have been reported by individuals with high blood cholesterol levels, hypertension, stress, and anxiety.
I’m sure you were proud of your gray mane and would like it back and the only way to counteract it is to first ask your primary care physician if any of your medication is to blame and then to have your hair colored.
